14. Roxy #2
It still doesn’t mean I want anything to do with this lifestyle. I’ll do what I need to do to keep my brothers at bay, then go back to my little life that I carved out of stone.
“I know I should be angry, like I’m not crazy, I know that,” I say, thinking out loud.
Leon grabs the red polish and a tiny little brush.
“What happened last night was certifiably fucked. So why am I kicking my feet and giggling at the thought of it? The only thing I was mad about was not knowing there were two of them? Does that make me fucking insane?”
Leon hums quietly. “Maybe.”
Well, great.
When he pins me with a look, I feel the mood shift. “I’m sorry to be so forward, but I’ve looked into your brothers. I’m not the most imaginative person, but it doesn’t take a genius to guess what growing up was like for you.”
My throat tightens. He gives me a soft smile.
“So, maybe you aren’t destined for a cute romance that they write books about. Maybe this is exactly what you need.”
My brows furrow as I mull over his words.
“I don’t need men who crave violence,” I mutter. “In fact, I need to be very far away from them.”
Leon screws the polish lid on and puts my nails under the UV light.
“What about me?” he taunts, amusement whirling in his eyes.
I shrug. Maybe my convictions are all muddled up. Maybe I don’t really care right now.
“I can’t really imagine you as the gun-wielding type,” I say truthfully.
Biting his lip, he moves into my space, his hand coming to rest on my throat. Like this, with his face only an inch from mine, I shiver. Because now he looks like the Devil that he is.
“That’s because I rarely ever yield a gun, babe,” he whispers, his breath dusting over my lips.
“Anyone can lift a gun and press the trigger. I like to be more... creative. Sometimes I’ll let them fuck me and slip them something that makes them completely paralysed.
Then, I can really have my fun and examine the human body.
Or maybe I’ll set a trap and catch them like an animal. Make them scream like one.”
My breath gets caught in my throat as I gasp, and the sound draws his attention to my lips.
The look vanishes from his eyes in a second, and he pulls away from me, shrugging.
“Or maybe I don’t kill at all. Who knows?”
What is it and this place for finding the most terrifying men in the world? And why does it make my pussy purr?
I lift my chin, meeting his amused gaze. “Well, mine could be considered creative,” I shrug, feigning a chillness that I certainly don’t feel.
He chuckles softly. “It certainly could be.”
The timer goes off for the UV light, and he pulls my nails back towards him, grabbing a clear coat.
“So, moving on from... whatever that was,” I clear my throat. “Tell me about Griff.”
His smile goes from ear to ear now.
“He wants to fuck me, I swear,” he murmurs.
Now it’s my turn to scoff. “I think you might be as bad at misreading situations as I am. That man does not want to fuck you, honey.”
Remembering the look of pure disgust on the enormous man’s face when he glanced at Leon’s nails held zero fuck-me eyes.
Leon’s smile doesn’t falter. “Babe, you don’t feel the way he hates me so hard. No one hates someone that viciously unless they want to fuck you like a wild animal. Mark my words... One day it’ll be too much for him to bear, and he’ll find himself balls deep inside of me.”
I double over laughing. “You are insane.”
With an incredulous look, he grabs my other hand. “Coming from the girl who just got kidnapped and her nipples pierced forcefully and is sitting here not even a day later blushing about it like a schoolgirl with a crush.”
My laugh dies, and I scowl at him. “Fuck you.”
His eyes roll.
“I bet those little weirdos love piercings,” he murmurs, and I have to stop myself from growling at him for calling them names. “I hope Griff does. My dick has more metal in it than a hardware store.”
“Stop it,” I gasp, eyes rounding.
I’ve never seen a pierced dick. I bet it’s hot.
He hums, nodding. “Jacob’s ladder, the thing runs from my balls to the tip.”
“Wow,” I mutter, wincing as I think of how much that would actually hurt.
“So, you’re just waiting for a man who hates your guts?”
He purses his lips.
“Not exactly. I’m fucking this kid who works at Northview Garage, but I think he’s catching feelings. There’s this girl who drops in when the Devils throw parties, too,” he smirks. “But mostly we’re just trying to stay alive in this war.”
My heart drops into my stomach. War.
It takes me a few tries to work up the courage to ask. “What war?”
Pulling my nails back under the light, he finally sits up straight, stretching his lean body. Leather creaks as he moves, running his hand through his curly hair.
“Well, there’s us, the Devils. We run the North of Havenport.
We also own the North View Garage, but we let them do their thing.
Then you have the Wraiths, who run the South.
There are also clubs in surrounding cities, like the Krakens over at Diamond Bay and smaller groups like the Kings brothers who run the underground fighting world.
Oh, and Harley and his men. They run the world of weapons in this city and almost every other city in the state. ”
My head is spinning, trying to grasp how complex this world is. Trying to grasp the names and cities.
“Okay,” I whisper. “And you are at war with the Wraiths?”
He huffs. “Babe, we are at war with everyone.” At that, his face hardens.
“Around here, there’s only a few places we can negotiate with other clubs without mass bloodshed.
Grey zones. We’ve got the dockyard and fighting pits.
Any bloodshed there, unless in the fighting ring, is practically like signing a death sentence.
It’s free range for any club to come onto our turf, rules and respect out of the window. So, you’re not only fighting one club, but you’ve also got little dropkicks who are too big for their britches jumping in for a piece of blood. A piece of what we’ve worked so hard to build.”
How can he talk about this so calmly? Like we are talking about grocery shopping or something else completely mundane.
How are the people downstairs drinking and having fun? Aren’t they scared? I’m scared.
“Shit,” I breathe. I gnaw on my lip. “Leon?”
He looks at me, raising his brows.
“My brother... he said things have changed with the Wraiths. What could he mean by that?”
I don’t want to know the answer. But I need to know.
Leon searches my face. Nerves stir through me every second he doesn’t answer.
“Well, when we had our incident in the grey zone, the Wraith president, Zeke, disappeared. We can’t fucking find him.
” Anger flashes in his pretty face. “Not to mention he has a cash infusion in his pocket from Maddy’s father.
Half the Wraiths disappeared with him too.
The other half doesn’t even know Zeke’s still alive.
It’s like they’re rebuilding the Wraiths into something more reckless and dangerous than before. ”
“And my brothers are part of that?”
He doesn’t answer. Doesn’t need to.
“Anyway,” Leon sighs. He shrugs it off as if it’s no big deal. “Nails are done. I’d say that was well worth the goss.”
My lips curve, and I bring my new claws in front of my eyes to inspect them. Gasping, I squeal, “Leon! They are fucking amazing.”
His cheesy smile hits me as I wiggle my fingers.
Midnight black nails with intricate barbed wire painted across them. On the ring fingers, crimson red fades into the black.
They are perfect.